Relationship Is the Key to Opportunity
Let go of timing and targets, and focus on relationship building.
Last week 3 magical (unexpected) things happened for me in my business. All of them point strongly to the thing that is at the heart of all business is: relationships. 1 new client that I didn’t know before Wednesday, 2 ‘old’ clients that just popped back in to say ‘can we do this’ or can we do something now please.
I’m not saying it to brag, I’m saying it because it allows me to share why, and to encourage you to evaluate just what expectations you are holding, and what relationship building you are doing.
You see, I’m a strong and firm believer in spending time and love building connections, sometimes over years. Done right, those connections over time will end up being what serves you. In more ways than you can imagine. Opportunities that come out of left field. People ready say yes, when they are ready. Tentative conversations that ‘suddenly’ turn into clients. It’s the months and years of staying connected that really do the trick. Yes of course you can make your offers, and you do your showing up on social media, and all of those marketing reach outs…but it’s the relationships that you build FROM doing these that do the actual work. That’s where your real effort needs to be.
For the likes of us, the multi-potentialites, the thought-leaders, the creative entrepreneurs, it really does come down to the connections that have developed THROUGH these efforts. The trick is to build those connections and nurture them – because you just never know what or when they are going to come back to you as opportunities. What I know though, is that if you stay in touch for long enough, and are curious or kind (or both) enough, eventually people come into your circle, ready to work with you.
It requires of course that there’s clarity around what you offer and what you are doing. It requires that you have a genuine desire to connect. It requires of you that you show up, even when you don’t want to. Or that you show up again, after a hiatus, with a reason for why, in your authenticity. It requires that you lead.
Business is built one relationship at a time. When people know you, they choose you. Or they choose to recommend you to someone else. My call for you this week is to examine how well you are nurturing those you know, and what you are sharing that allows them to know what you need, and what you do. Be curious about all they are up to, and see where that leads.